Little help over here?
Last week, New Mexico Political Report and Searchlight New Mexico broke the story about contaminated groundwater devastating a dairy farm near Clovis. The story has since been picked up by international media outlets, so some might hope for positive action. But Laura Paskus reports that the CDC has named five communities in the US to be tested for the contaminant, PFAS. All of them are near US Air Force bases … and none of them are in New Mexico.
Trickster protections
For the third time in the last few years, a bill banning coyote-killing contests has cleared the state Senate, but could die in the House. Lawmakers are generally split on the idea on an urban-rural line, despite the contests being distasteful to ethical hunters and considered ineffective by biologists. Lawmakers played some word games in discussing the bill, but it advanced 22-17.
Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em
OK, so while we really like local news, when the national stuff is this insane we have to tell you about it. Michael Cohen, former crony of the president, called Trump a racist, a liar and a con man yesterday during Senate testimony. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York laid the groundwork to finally get the president's tax returns released (or, as Vanity Fair puts it, give him a financial colonoscopy), questioning Cohen about the president's habit of providing inflated numbers to insurance companies and underestimating the value of his properties to pay less in taxes. Oh, and the President abruptly ended his much-touted talks with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam a few hours ago, citing irreconcilable differences.
Crime and otherwise gnarly update
Once again, this here's our least-pleasant section, so if you want to skip 'em, now's your chance. The trial of the father who is accused of prostituting his 7-year-old in Albuquerque continues today; the judge will decide whether to uphold the defense's request for a mistrial. The man who took his own life at a Santa Fe Motel 6 has been identified as 55-year-old Freeman Watson. A man arrested for shooting a man in the face in Albuquerque in a case of road rage was called violent by his ex-girlfriend. Also, in a continuation of a story that started 43 years ago, an Albuquerque family says that they suspect a priest had a role in the freezing death of a boy who supposedly tried to escape a boarding school in northeast New Mexico in 1976.
Another St. Francis fracas
A car ended up in the Santa Fe River ($) at the intersection of West Alameda and St. Francis yesterday, and the 23-year-old driver from Santa Cruz has been cited. According to the police report, the younger driver ran a red light and hit the car of a 74-year-old Santa Fe woman, then crashed through a guardrail and into the river ditch. No one was seriously injured in the crash, though the Santa Cruz man says he was rushing his passenger to the hospital with chest pains at the time.
Remembering Jeremiah
A public memorial has been set for the fourth-grade boy killed in last week's car accident at St. Francis and Hickox. On Saturday March 9 ($), pay your respects at 10 am in the Capital High School gymnasium (4851 Paseo del Sol). Additionally, this weekend, Dino's Drive-In Barber Shop (1300 Luisa St.) hosts a fundraiser and cut-a-thon for the Archuleta family. That's from 11 am-3 pm Sunday March 3.
Dem bones
A man known to his community in Indiana as an amateur historian and "museum" owner liked to invite folks into his basement to see hundreds of artifacts from around the world. Christian missionary Donald C Miller was locally beloved until he died in 2015. One catch, and it's a big one: A bunch of the antiquities in his basement were illegally procured and culturally sensitive ($). The FBI raided is home about a year before his death and found tens of thousands of artifacts they suspect were obtained illegally, including what have now been identified as 2,000 human bones from Native American burial grounds.
Still beautiful
Yesterday was a nice one, but we are still projected to see some colder temps this weekend. Hop in the pool while you still can. Clayton in particular will plunge from 67 to 20 in just a few days. Temps yesterday hit 62 at the Santa Fe airport.
Thanks for reading! The Word doesn't know what Miller needed with 2,000 human bones. I only have about 200 and sometimes it feels like too many. Like this one in my ankle, in particular. Unnecessary.
